One Shots
by Miss Insane Insanity
Summary: This will be a collection of one shots involving characters from my story Scientia Potestas Est. This is merely created to help me overcome writer's block. WARNINGS FOR HP CHARACTERS: AU, OOC, NON-CANON pairings. That will be all!


THE DAY EVERYTHING CHANGED – July 2007  
Kimaine James, 10 years old  
Adrian James, 22 years old

It started out as any other day. It was in the middle of winter, and when I woke up, our little village had been blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) with snow.

I, for one, absolutely _loved_ snow.

My second- and third-best-friends _detested_ it.

But, of course, within a few minutes I'd managed to convince both Senna and Linique to join me for an hour of snowy fun.

But before we went outside, my brother pulled me aside. Adrian looked seriously into my eyes as he said, "Don't leave the village, Kim, okay?"

I rolled my eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Yes, of course. Whatever, Adrian."

Green eyes narrowed. "I'm being serious. There have been recent Death Eater sightings in the area. Please just be safe. AND DO NOT LEAVE THE VILLAGE LIKE LAST TIME AND I HAD TO SEARCH FOR YOU FOR TWO DAYS."

I pouted. It wasn't my fault that I was so brilliant at playing Hide and Seek that nobody could find me. I was too stubborn to give up my hiding place, anyway. They had to find me first…which they did. After two days. I'd been in big trouble, because ever since I could remember, I had to listen to my older brother (aged 22) and his stupid orders. He'd ordered me to stay in Fort Beaufort, and I'd "disobeyed" him. But, my mind sneakily whispered, he hadn't said it was an –

"And that's an order."

Darn it! "Fine," I sulked. "I won't leave Fort Beaufort." Orders were orders, after all.

"Why don't you take Lefu with you?"

I grimaced in disgust. I've had enough of that bothersome boy to last me a few weeks. "NOOOOO! I want to be alone with my friends. AND Kerri can't come. We'll be fine, Adrian, I swear."

"I don't like this," he muttered. "But I give you three hours. That is all."

Two hours later and I was still running around in the nearby woods, playing Stuck In The Mud with my two friends. I giggled as I touched Linique's arm, right on the pale scar that contrasted with her light chocolate skin.

Linique groaned comically and froze obediently. I grinned triumphantly, but the grin quickly fell when I heard a scream. Shivers ran down my spine as the scream came again. This was not good!

Senna hurried over to our little group, her blonde hair creating a halo around her as she ran. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know," Linique said, biting her lip worriedly. "I-I think we should go back to the village."

We quickly agreed.

Three girlish screams escaped our lips at the sudden crack of someone Apparating. I fell down to my knees, the sound echoing in my ears like a gunshot. No one ever Apparated in our village except for in emergencies, I thought, so what's going on? Shaky hands quickly pulled me up.

For a moment, nobody moved. Linique was tightly clutching my elbow, while Senna had my right hand in a death grip. All three of us were trembling.

Ten metres away from us, a mouth uncovered by a pale white mask lifted in a feral grin. "Gotcha," he whispered.

The single whispered word had the same affect that a simple "boo" would've had on us when we were six. I shrunk back against my whimpering friends. My heart thudded painfully loud in my chest as fear slowly seeped into my mind. I was frozen, I couldn't move.

"R-run!" Senna screamed suddenly, the sound nearly deafening in the previous silence. "C'mon let's go!"

As one we turned around and ran into the thickened forest. My heart thudded loudly in my ears as we ran, making me feel as if the Death Eater could follow us by simply listening to its rhythm. What's going on? Why was a Death Eater chasing us? WHERE IS MY BROTHER?

Linique suddenly cried out as she crashed to the snowy ground. Everything in my body screamed at me to continue running, but I fought back. I couldn't just leave my friend!

I looked at the fallen Linique, and then to a wide-eyed Senna. It was clear that she just wanted to run away, like I did, but duty to her friend was causing an internal battle that none of us could afford at the moment. I made her choice for her. "GO, SENNA!" I yelled at the frozen blonde. "I've got her!"

The terrified girl nodded quickly and continued running. I sprinted to my fallen African friend, only to freeze at the sight that greeted me. A thick branch was pierced into Linique's side. Her blood rapidly spilled into the snow. Tearful brown eyes begged me for help. I bit my lip and crouched down. I didn't know what to do. My hands hovered uselessly around the branch.

_Th-this is too much blood. I don't like blood. Adrian, where are you? Help me, Adrian._

"Sh, calm down," Linique gasped and pressed a trembling hand on my arm. "B-break that one piece of the branch off, okay? Concentrate your wandless magic like Adrian taught you. But only break it so that we can run again, kay, cause if you pull it outa me it'll hurt."

I nodded shakily and concentrated hard. It took some effort to push the bloody image out of my mind, but I finally managed it. Slowly my trembling died down to barely anything. I placed my hand on a piece of the branch stuck through Linique's side and forced my magic to come to life. It took all of my concentration, and my energy, to get it to crack slightly. "It's not working!" I panicked. Crap, I'm useless!

"RUNNING WON'T GET YOU ANYWHERE!" the gruff voice of the Death Eater called out, his voice clearly excited from the chase. "JUST GIVE UP ALREADY!"

"He's close," Linique whispered, terrified. She shivered and gagged once. "I-I-I can try to help by concentrating too."

I nodded jerkily, my whole body tensed. I didn't want Linique to strain herself while she was in this fragile state, but we had no other choice. If only Adrian was here…

I closed my eyes and concentrated on my magical core. After a moment, in my mind's eye a neon green tendril shot out to wrap around the branch. A weak pink tendril belonging to Linique met my magic, and together they tightened around the branch. Within seconds there was a loud crack, and my eyes shot open. We did it! I was breathless from the effort, but we needed to go _now_.

I roughly grabbed Linique's arm, causing her to cry out. I didn't even have time to apologize as the sound of feet crashing through the woods reached my ears. I pulled on my friend's arm as I started running. She started to cry – from pain or fear, or maybe even both? I felt my own eyes begin to water. Where was Adrian when you needed him?! Please, I begged, please Adrian, please…

I stumbled on a root and crashed to the ground, pulling the injured African girl down with me. Luckily I was there to break her fall, but she still screamed as the piece of wood still lodged in her side shifted.

I roughly pushed her off of me and into a standing position. My leg was on fire, and I glanced down to see that my jeans were ripped and bloody. Fudge, this hurt. But I could focus on it later, I thought with tears in my eyes. Adrian would've told me to be strong and ignore the pain. So that's what I would do. "Let's go," I said through gritted teeth. Linique was hesitant, but with my glare she nodded. I allowed the African girl to run in front of me, needing a second to compose myself.

However, that second was a mistake.

The crack of the Death Eater Apparating reached my ears, and it was so loud that I knew he was somewhere close behind me. As if in slow motion, Linique stopped running and turned around. She was twenty metres away from me already. Her terrified brown eyes met mine, confused and unsure and full of pain. Next her eyes settled over my shoulder, at the Death Eater no doubt standing behind me. Her jaw fell and she screamed out my name.

I closed my eyes, resigning myself to my fate. I didn't want to die, if I was honest with myself. Nobody truly wants to die. I would do anything to just get out of here alive…but my honour quickly reared its head.

_It's your honour and duty to protect your friends, _it growled at me_. If you give yourself to the Death Eater, maybe your friends will have a better chance to escape. _

I squeezed my eyes to stop my tears. It was true. All I wanted was for them to be safe. With this final thought, I opened my eyes again and smiled gently at Linique. "Go, Nikki," I whispered.

With one last tearful look, the African girl turned around and ran.

It pained me to see her go, knowing that I would probably never see her again. But if they were safe thanks to my sacrifice, I would happily leave this world.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist, locking me in. "Gotcha," the Death Eater whispered. A dark chuckle was the last thing I heard as he Stunned me, and my world faded into nothingness.

When I woke up, I was tied expertly to an old rickety wooden chair. The room was empty and dark, except for one large window facing the surrounding forest. For a moment I was confused. Why was I tied up? Why was I here? But then I remembered the Death Eater, and how I gave myself up to save my friends. Hope blossomed in my chest. Surely Senna and Linique had reached the village already. Help was on its way, right?

Those hopes were viciously crushed as two Death Eaters entered the surprisingly clean room I was in. One turned on the light, while the other threw down two limp figures at my feet. With horror I noticed the blonde curls and pale skin; and short inky black hair connected to dark skin.

Senna and Linique.

"Thought they'd get away, eh?" the Death Eater (let's call him DE1) who turned on the light asked me. It was the same one who'd captured me.

The second Death Eater snorted. "As if." He looked through his mask at his Dark Mark. "We should call the Big Boss, ya know."

A stinging sensation caused me to look down at my legs. They were bloody and my jeans were torn. Did I break something? I thought. I wriggled my legs a bit. Nothing broken.

DE1 nodded. "_You_ call him, then."

DE2 grimaced but did as he was told. He hissed with pain, which caused DE1 to laugh. I wouldn't have laughed. It wasn't nice to laugh at the pain of others.

"You're such a wimp," DE1 chuckled. "The Dark Lord will be here soon, so get ready."

I wondered why they weren't talking to me.

DE2 sighed. "He's going to be pissed that we took so long to capture these two shits." He nodded at Linique and Senna's unconscious forms.

"Three hours aren't that bad," DE1 said. "These girls are more clever than most. They also know the area, so it's understandable for them to find hiding spots."

"But still," DE2 grumbled. "We should've been able to get them quicker. What I don't understand is why they continued to stay in the forest, instead of running back to the village to seek help."

DE1 shrugged and leaned against a wall. His dark eyes met mine. "They didn't want to leave _this_ one behind."

My stomach sank. So it's my fault that my friends were here? My eyes slowly started to well up.

The two Death Eaters suddenly straightened as a faint crack sounded from outside. "Our Lord is here. Stay here, little girl," DE1 said. The two nodded at each other and left the room.

Now was my only chance. If I understood them correctly, Lord Voldemort was here. And I was in big trouble. If I didn't escape now, we'd all die.

I wiggled in my chair and tried to pull my hands out of the rope binding them together. It was no use. The ropes were charmed, and it made bloody cuts in my skin the more I struggled. My eyes watered as I stopped struggling. I was too exhausted to even attempt using my wandless magic like before.

A quiet groan made me look at my friends again. It looked like Senna was waking up. Green eyes blinked a few times before meeting mine. "Kim," she whispered in a tight voice. "Y-you're okay!"

I sniffled and tried to wipe my tears on my sleeve. "Y-yeah. But why didn't you leave, Sen?" I noticed with relief that she had no serious injuries except for a few scrapes.

"I couldn't just leave you behind!" she said, her voice hard and slightly desperate. "Don't feel guilty," she added. "I also had to find Linique, and I did." Senna looked down at the figure next to her. "I-I tried healing her. I managed to get the branch out and my magic numbed her pain a bit."

Linique was at least in a better state than she was. There was hope! But it was short lived as three people entered the room, followed by the two Death Eaters from before.

The shortest of them all was the first to lower their hoods. It was a girl who appeared to be around 13 or maybe 14. She had curly brown hair that fell to her lower back, and warm brown eyes.

Next to her, the taller figure removed their hood next. It appeared to be an older version of the girl and she looked to be around the age of 28. She seemed familiar…I'd seen her in a newspaper before, haven't I? But who was she?

The younger girl looked up at the older one and whined, "Why did I have to come, Herm? I just want to go home."

Herm…huh?

"Shush, Emily. I've got a headache. This will be over soon," 'Herm' replied.

The name Emily suddenly reminded me of who this was. The younger girl was Emily Granger – younger sister of Hermione Granger.

So that means…that the 28 year old was Hermione Granger – the girl who betrayed the Boy Who Lived. I guessed she was Hermione Riddle, now…

Which means…

We're dead.

"Take off your hood, love," Hermione commanded.

Her husband chuckled lowly and did as asked. The aristocratic features of the Dark Lord were revealed, and that was when the real fear sank in. We were dead for sure. Voldemort – or Riddle – glanced at the two Death Eaters. "Is this her?" The Dark Lord nodded at me.

Death Eater 1 came forward and nodded. "Yes, my Lord," he murmured. "We also managed to capture her first." He gestured at me.

The Dark Lord's eyes scanned my face disinterestedly. I didn't like this and squirmed. "I see. Who are those two?"

"The blonde is called Senna, my Lord, and the African girl is called Linique. They are friends of Miss James. We didn't kill them since we knew they might have some valuable information, my Lord."

"That was wise of you, Balthazar," Hermione praised. "Wake the African up, would you?"

"Of course, my Lady," DE 1 (or Balthazar) said. He aimed his wand at Linique and shouted out, "Enervate!"

My friend awoke with a start and sat up with a cry. "W-what?" she stuttered as she noticed the adults in the room. She was terrified – with good reason, too. You see, Linique is an orphan. Her parents were Jacob and Angela September – important members of The Resistance. The Resistance had also been obliterated by Voldemort in 2001 – everyone died, except for a selected few.

The children belonging to the _James, September, Roux, and Erasmus_ families were the lone survivors.

_We_ were some of the survivors.

Voldemort's gaze settled on Linique. "You are Linique September, are you not?"

"And don't lie to him," the younger Granger added cheerfully, "Tom here can get really nasty when he's upset." She easily ignored the glare sent her way.

"Y-yes," Linique said weakly.

"You are the daughter of Jacob and Angela."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Are you the only survivor of the Septembers?" Brown eyes narrowed onto the girl, and I realized that she wouldn't be able to lie. He was preforming Legilimency on her! Before Linique could even open her mouth to tell him that, yes, she was the only survivor, Voldemort was snapping orders at DE1 and DE2 to go to the neighbouring village and _kill_ them.

With horror, I realized that Linique's whole life was literally just ripped away from her. Her older brother and sister were about to be murdered.

My heart was breaking, one piece at a time. I started trembling with fear – for myself and my friends. Were we going to be killed, too? Would our bodies ever be found?

_Adrian… Save us, Adrian! I don't want to die._

Voldemort ignored Linique's heart-wrenching sobs and turned snake-like eyes to the frozen Senna. "You are Senna Roux, correct?"

The blonde nodded shakily.

"I expect you to answer in words," the Dark Lord said coldly with a narrow-eyed glare.

Senna clenched her fists and raised her chin a little. Defiance shone brightly in her eyes. "Yes, I am."

"You are the heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Roux, then. Your parents were Viktor and Monica, correct?"

Senna looked more reserved at the mention of her parents. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Are you the last of the Roux family?" Once again the Dark Lord didn't wait for a reply as he took a quick scan of her mind. He nodded curtly at Hermione before levelling his gaze to meet mine.

I was frozen by those eyes. His eyes held so much knowledge and power, it was unnerving.

"Kimaine James, daughter of Estian and Harriet. You have one older brother named Adrian, who is at home right now looking for you."

I paled. How did the Dark Lord know this? How did he know the names of our parents, our siblings, and who we were?

_Adrian, help me! Adrian_, my mind sobbed. I tried to appear strong before the Riddle-Granger trio, but I knew I was unsuccessful by the sneer on the younger Granger's lips.

"Are there any other sibling that I am not aware of?"

I was instantly aware of the presence that entered my mind. I tried to fight it, everything in me telling me that this presence was _unnatural_, but I was unsuccessful.

Images of my life replayed themselves in my mind.

Images of my mother and father, of our time spent together.

Images of crying endlessly when I realized mommy and daddy weren't going to ever come home again. I was four years old.

Images of an emotionless Adrian leaving me at the September household so that he could train to become stronger.

Images of a stronger Adrian – one who wasn't sixteen years old anymore, but twenty. I saw the reunion we had – my joyous laugh as I saw my brother for the first time in nearly four years.

Images of my brother being a stronger, stricter man flashed into my mind. He was now a man who followed rules and gave out orders, one who _trained_ me.

The presence left my mind, leaving me gasping and crying. I didn't want this!

The Dark Lord seemed satisfied by what he saw. I tensed, waiting for him to give the order for Adrian's death.

It never came.

Instead, he grabbed his wand and pointed it at Senna. He shouted out a spell that I was unfamiliar with, but the feel it gave off caused my magic to cower.

When the spell touched her, Senna let out a bloodcurdling scream, the sound shaking me. I knew that I would remember it to the day I died. She kept on screaming for what seemed like hours, writing and twisting on the ground.

"STOP!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" I was shaking my head, trying to rid my mind of that god-awful sound.

The Dark Lord only laughed and intensified the pain. Over the screams, he conversationally said, "This is called Crucio Maxima – a curse that I created. The pain of the Crucio Maxima is fifty times more intense than that of the Cruciatus curse."

I was powerless. I couldn't save Senna. And she was here thanks to me.

_I _was the one who insisted that we came out in the snow to play.

_I_ was the one who insisted that we ran into the woods.

_I_ was the one they wouldn't leave behind.

Oh God…

The screams abruptly ended. The sound of sobbing was the only thing left. The room stayed painfully silent for all of two minutes, before the screams started again.

But this time, the screams belonged to Linique.

It was torture to listen to the pain my friends were going through. The sounds that escaped their mouths weren't supposed to ever leave their lips. It wasn't supposed to leave _anyone's_ lips. No one should ever be submitted to this kind of pain.

It was the cruellest form of torture I'd ever seen, and my friends were under its effects.

I was powerless. I couldn't help them.

It was my entire fault.

I would never be able to forgive myself if I managed to get out alive.

The torture went on with the Dark Lord switching between the two girls. The thing that bothered me the most was the impassive expression on the two bushy-haired sisters' faces. They didn't care that innocent children were being tortured.

I just wanted it all to end. Why wasn't he doing anything to me? Couldn't he just leave my friends alone?!

The Dark Lord lifted the curse and turned around to address his subordinates who had just arrived. "Well?"

DE1 stepped forward. "We killed the September siblings, my Lord. Unfortunately our presence was detected and we were forced to kill off a few more adults and children. But we came out unscathed."

"Very good. Let's end this, then."

My blood froze, and I swear my heart stopped beating for a second.

This was it. This was the end.

Voldemort hissed a spell in a language that could only be Parseltounge. A black light with red lining escaped the wand and engulfed the curled up forms of Senna and Linique.

"OH MY GOD, what is that?" I screamed out as pain-filled screams were ripped out of my friends' mouths. "What did you do to them?!"

The Dark Lord gazed calmly at me. "This is another one of my creations. They will be dead within five minutes." With that, he turned around.

They were _leaving_. "WAIT!" I called out angrily. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! AREN'T YOU GOING TO KILL ME, TOO?!" It wasn't that I wanted to die. No, I was just confused. Why did he leave me alive?

"Do you want to die, girl?" the Dark Lord hissed. "No? Then we are done here."

_What?_

His two Death Eaters followed behind Lady Riddle, while the younger Granger hesitated. She made sure that no one was looking, before waving her wand at my bonds and whispering a spell. To my shock, the ropes holding me went slack. "I'm so sorry, Kimaine James. You're free now," Emily whispered before hurrying out of the room.

I choked on a sob as I fell down onto my knees. _Oh my God, oh my God…_ The pain in my chest was so intense, I could barely think straight. I sniffed and crawled over to the trembling forms of my best friends. They needed me. I settled between the two, right in the middle, and just cried. I couldn't speak, I couldn't think. All that I knew was that this was the end for them.

"K-Kimmy," Senna said weakly. "D-d-don't cry."

I laughed wetly and tried to hold in my tears. If I knew Senna at all, she'd hate to see me cry in her final moments. "How can I not cry, Sen? This is it for you. You're _dying_."

"Y-yeah, I guess we are," Linique whispered from next to me. Her voice was weak and rough. "But you're alive. L-live for us, Kimmy. Don't ever give up. 'Kay?"

I shook my head as I cried. I drew up my legs to my chest and hugged them protectively. The hole in my chest was expanding, threatening to swallow me whole. I can't take this pain for much longer. "Y-you can't die! Neither of you! I-I-I can get help! I'll, I'll run to the village and get Adrian!" I was desperate. They couldn't leave me.

Linique let a sob escape through strangely blue lips as she shook her head. "Not enough time, Kimmy," she said.

"We've g-got three minutes," Senna added, and gasped as she grabbed at her side. "T-this hurts," she coughed wetly.

My mind went blank with panick. "_But you can't die_," I cried. "You guys are my best friends! What am I supposed to do without you?" I noticed Linique wasn't moving. "DON'T LEAVE ME! LINIQUE!"

Brown eyes blinked open weakly. "I'm still here. But it hurts, Kimmy."

No, no, no, no, no! This isn't happening! This is all just a dream…

"I c-can't feel my legs and arms anymore," Senna whispered, sounding scared and resigned. "I think it's nearly time."

I shook my head wildly. No, no, no, no, no! Please, God no! This can't be real!

"I love you, Kimmy," Linique whispered painfully, her body convulsing with pain. Blood started to leak out of her eyes, her nose, her ears, and her mouth as she cried. It was gruesome, and very real. This wasn't a dream.

"Forever and always," Senna added. She gurgled suddenly and her eyes widened. She started to cough as if she couldn't breathe. She twisted around to lie on her stomach as she continued coughing. She weakly lifted herself with her arms, only to collapse again.

What was happening?! I panicked. I tried to help her to sit up, but she waved my hand away as she started grabbing at her throat. She couldn't breathe.

I didn't know what to do. I'd never been prepared to deal with this. Dealing with dying friends had never been a part of my training. What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to act? How in the name of Merlin was I supposed to help when my best friends were dying?!

_ADRIAN!_

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, Linique let loose the same wet cough. Her own lungs were being flooded with blood.

I stopped trying to help Senna as I crumbled to the ground. I curled into myself and pressed my hands against my ears, trying to block out the awful sounds. My limbs were shaking as I stared at my dying friends. I couldn't help them. There was nothing I could do. _I couldn't help._

With a final gasp, and a wide eyed look at me, Senna stopped moving altogether. With a clenching heart, I watched as the light slowly left her now-dull green eyes. She was _gone_.

This couldn't be real.

I wildly swung my head to Linique, who was still crying blood as she rolled around gasping. I got out of my position and crawled to her. I grabbed her and pulled her head into my lap. Linique's large brown eyes were filled to the brim with blood and tears, her body trembling and tense as she tried to breathe.

"Shh," I whispered softly as she cried. I gently wiped her tears away and slightly rocked her. "Shh, I'm here. You'll be okay. Your parents _and_ Senna are waiting for you."

My tears dripped down and fell onto Linique, mixing with her own tears. I couldn't believe that she was dying. I couldn't believe that Senna was already dead.

With one last gurgle, and a violent spasm, my African friend stopped breathing.

My mouth opened in a silent scream.

_They're gone._

_They're gone._

_They're gone, and I didn't do anything to help them. _

_My entire fault._

"Adrian!" I screamed into the empty room. "_ADRIAN!_"

Oh Merlin, it was my entire fault.

"We love you, Kimmy," the ghostly voices whispered in my mind. _"Forever and always." _

"_L-live for us, Kimmy. Don't ever give up. 'Kay?"_

I felt like I was dying, the pain was so intense. The hole in my chest was threatening to swallow me completely and without mercy. No one had told me that losing someone could hurt this much.

And even if they had, I still wouldn't have been prepared.

With a sob, I buried my face in Linique's chest. I knew that I should look for help, but at the moment I loved her too much to let her go.

Letting her go meant accepting that they were dead.

And I couldn't do that. I couldn't let go.

Not yet.

Not ever.

_Adrian, where were you? I needed you._


End file.
